Trial and Error
by lizardwriter
Summary: This is a companion piece to FitchSwitch's 'What the Heart Sees'. Read that first. :  Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters.


**A/N: This is a companion piece to 'What the Heart Sees' by FitchSwitch. It has been read and approved by the author herself (and written under her encouragement to begin with). It feels fitting that the first thing I'm posting since what more or less constitutes my retirement from fandom goes along with WTHS as nowadays the only times I really talk about fanfic is with FitchSwitch, and mostly it's in relationship to WTHS and ideas she's telling me for it or little tidbits I'm throwing in.** **This takes place before the events in WTHS, but, that being said, you really do need to go read her story before you read this to find out about the world she's created and to get to know the version of Katie and Effy that will be portrayed here.** **Don't forget to leave her love, when you read, too.** **Read this after Chapter 8 part 1 as it relates to events mentioned in that chapter. Hope you like it! **

**Written for FitchSwitch with lots of love. xx**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters.**

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"Thank fuck you invited me out tonight," Katie sighed as she bustled into Effy's room, moving straight to the mirror to check her makeup.

"Everything still oh-so-fun at home?" Effy asked knowingly.

Katie nodded. "Poor Ems. I swear our mum's never going to let her out of her sight again lest she run off to be gay with another girl. Fucking Mandy. I swear I'm going to wring that girl's neck. Who the fuck is she to out my sister?"

"A cunt. I'm sure she'll get what's coming to her," Effy replied.

Katie knew that despite the calmness of her tone, Effy was as defensive of Emily as she was, and Mandy was on both of their hit lists.

Effy lit up a fag and moved to her window, cracking it open as Katie continued to fuss with her appearance in the mirror.

"How are you managing?" Effy inquired after a few minutes, exhaling out the window, watching Katie out of the corner of her eye as her smoke curled out the window.

Katie shrugged. "I'm not the one our mum's giving so much shit."

Katie caught Effy's smirk in the mirror. It was that one that she always had when she knew something you thought she didn't. Katie dreaded seeing that sometimes.

"Not what I meant," Effy murmured with another exhale of smoke.

Katie turned, one hand on her hip. "What did you mean, then, Effy? Do tell."

"You can't fool me, Katie Fitch. I know you're still absorbing the fact that your twin is gay," Effy said before taking a last puff of her cigarette and flicking it out the window. She stood and crossed to where Katie was standing as Katie spluttered her response.

"I'm not – It's no big – Sometimes you're so fucking – ARGH!"

"Articulate," Effy murmured with a smirk.

"I love her. Okay? Regardless of who she loves."

Effy rolled her eyes. "Obviously. Doesn't mean you're not...dealing."

Katie glared. "I don't know what you mean," she said haughtily before turning back to face the mirror.

She heard Effy sigh, and the next thing she knew Effy had pressed herself against her back and was sliding a hand around her stomach. It wasn't like they'd never touched like this before. They did when they were out dancing all the time. Somehow this time, though, Katie felt uncomfortable. She stepped away.

"What the fuck, Ef?"

"Told you," Effy responded, looking particularly pleased with herself as she stepped back and sat down on her bed, leaning back and supporting herself with her arms.

"Told me what? What the fuck does that prove?" Katie demanded, suddenly wondering if going out with Effy tonight was indeed better than being stuck home in the World War III going on between her mother and her sister.

"You're worried."

"Oh yeah? About what, Miss Know-It-All?" Katie retorted.

"What it means for you," Effy replied knowingly.

Katie glowered. She hated that Effy was right. It wasn't that she loved Emily any less because she was gay. She didn't. She loved Emily just as much as she always had. She didn't have anything against her sister being gay. Not really. It was just that since Emily told her she hadn't been able to shake this nagging voice in the back of her head that kept asking, "well what about you?"

What if she was gay too? Or bi? Or somehow inclined that way? She'd only ever dated boys, but that didn't necessarily mean anything, right? And it wasn't like she was blind to the attractiveness of women. Fuck, she knew Effy was hot, for starters. Who didn't?

"We could test it, you know," Effy mused, eyes curious as they trailed up Katie's body to meet her gaze.

"Test what?"

"Your sexuality, Katie," Effy replied without batting an eye.

She had to be joking. She was joking, right? She...was Effy. Which meant she wasn't joking. Katie frowned as she rolled Effy's proposition over in her head. She'd had worse. That guy Danny, for starters, who'd been a complete wanker (and a lousy shag) and had kept propositioning Emily to join them for a threesome. Besides, at least with Effy there was no worry that a simple test would be taken to mean something more. She and Effy were best friends. It'd be comfortable. Well...as comfortable as something like this could be.

Effy grinned before Katie could respond. "Come on. We're going out and having fun and getting shitfaced." She pushed off her bed and glanced quickly in the mirror before grabbing Katie's arm and dragging her out of her room.

"Sounds like a good plan," Katie muttered as Effy continued to pull her down the hallway.

"Sounds like a date," Effy corrected.

.

.

"Come dance with me," Effy coaxed after their second round of shots.

Katie could already feel the alcohol starting to pulse through her veins, giving her the hints of a pleasant buzz. She let Effy take her hand and lead her out onto the dance floor.

Effy immediately moved in close, wrapping her arms around Katie's neck as their bodies found a rhythm that matched each other and the music.

They'd danced like this before, bodies brushing against each other. There'd been more than one occasion when they'd put on a show for one boy or another, to get their attention.

Tonight was different, though, because Effy's eyes were glued to hers with a certain intensity (though Katie knew it was just her committing to her goal for the night) and neither of them was looking around to make sure that whoever they were trying to pull was watching.

Katie wasn't exactly turned on, but it was kind of nice having Effy all to herself. There was a familiarity she shared with her friend that meant that they moved together in a kind of fluid harmony that she never quite found with anyone besides Emily, and that simply came from having shared a womb with her. Dancing with Effy with her hands on Effy's waist and Effy's arms around her neck and their bodies pressed together was kind of hot, she had to admit.

It wasn't long before a guy approached them and tried to barge in on their fun, but rather than turning and flirting with him, Effy moved around Katie, keeping in physical contact with her the whole time, so that her front was pressed against Katie's back and her arms were around Katie's waist.

"Hello, gorgeous, care to dance?" he asked, and Katie wasn't sure if he was addressing either of them specifically or just both of them to see if he'd get a bite.

"Sorry. Not interested," Effy responded, tightening her grip around Katie just enough for him to notice.

Katie glanced sideways at Effy's face only to find her staring the boy down.

"Hey, I don't mind a little lesbian action. I'm all for threesomes," the guy tried again anyway, moving in to attempt to dance with the both of them.

Effy smirked. "Shame you won't be getting any."

Effy manoeuvred Katie away, keeping their bodies pressed together until they'd disappeared into the crowd a little and then once they were out of sight of the guy, she took Katie's hand and twirled her before pulling her back in so that they were dancing face to face again.

"Wanker, trying to steal my date," Effy murmured into Katie's ear.

Katie laughed lightly.

It felt a bit like a girl's night out. One of those rare nights when they swore off men for the evening and just hung out as friends.

Well, except for the way that Effy's hands were travelling up and down her spine, grazing above the top of her arse.

"Care for another drink?" Effy breathed into her ear.

"Please," Katie said. Tonight, she decided, was not the night to skimp on alcohol consumption.

.

.

They were both decently shit-faced by the time they left the club, and Katie was thankful that it wasn't an overly long walk back to Effy's.

"Did you have fun tonight?" Effy asked, wrapping a warm arm around her that Katie couldn't help but nuzzle into.

"You're a wonderful date," Katie replied with a small laugh. It wasn't a lie. Effy'd been the perfect date, even insisting on paying for everything, but it still all felt a little like one massive practical joke that they were playing on the world, and maybe even that she was playing on herself. "Did you get me this drunk just to take advantage of me?"

"Well, now, I wouldn't really be testing if you were gay if I didn't try to make a move, would I?" Effy teased gently.

It was teasing, right? Katie's muddled mind tried to decide as they stumbled towards the bright red door of Effy's house.

They paused at the door while Effy dug her keys out of Katie's purse (because she never liked to carry her own no matter how cute it might look with her outfit, much to Katie's dismay), and Effy leaned in close once she'd gotten her key in the lock and murmured, "Would you like to come inside?" seductively into Katie's ear.

Katie bit back her retort of, "Of fucking course I would, you tit, I'm spending the night," as Effy trailed a finger down her bare arm. She shivered slightly, then figured: what the hell, may as well play along if she was really going to put her fears that she might be gay to rest.

"I'd love to," she replied coyly.

Effy grinned broadly and pushed open her door, stepping back to let Katie go first.

Katie made her way up the familiar stairs to Effy's room and for the first time all night felt nerves beginning to flutter in her stomach. How far were they going to go? How far would she want them to go? It's not like she could plead that she was above shagging someone on the first date because Effy would know that that was a lie. Effy, who knew her so well, who was her best friend. Katie took a deep breath. Effy wouldn't force her into anything she didn't want. She knew that. She had to trust her.

"So this is my room," Effy informed her with a smirk, appearing beside her in the doorway.

"You don't say," Katie retorted, unable to stop herself. But, honestly, it wasn't like she hadn't been there before.

Katie felt Effy's hand slip around her waist and guide her gently into the room, the door clicking shut behind them.

"You feel a bit tense, Katiekins. Didn't I get you drunk enough?" Effy teased.

"If you're trying to seduce me, you might want to sound less like Cook," Katie told her, dropping her purse by the bed and taking a seat.

"Is that so?" Effy asked, an eyebrow raised and a knowing smirk on her lips that seemed to say, "I know more than you do."

"Anyway, I'm not tense."

"Shame. I was going to offer a massage," Effy replied.

Katie's eyes widened at that. She'd gotten massages from Effy before, under strictly platonic circumstances, obviously, and they were rare, but they were fucking fantastic. She'd be crazy to turn one down. "I mean, I'm really tense. You should probably come here and help me loosen up a bit."

Effy let out a small, musical laugh, and settled on the bed beside Katie, who turned away from her in anticipation of her massage.

Effy's deft fingers began to work on her shoulders, but the silky fabric of her top made it hard, and it didn't feel as good as Katie knew it should.

"This would be a whole lot easier with your top off," Effy said in her ear.

Without thinking about it, Katie complied, pulling her top over her head, vaguely aware of Effy helping her tug it off, leaving her clad only in her skirt and bra.

Effy swept her hair to one side and then her warm fingers returned to massaging Katie's skin.

"Mmmm," Katie moaned as Effy worked on a tense spot where her neck met her shoulders. It was where she carried all of her stress, she knew. She leaned back willingly into Effy's hands as her thumbs dug in. "You know, if you were more okay with just generally touching people, I'd tell you to go into massage therapy as a career," Katie murmured.

Effy chuckled softly. "I don't think that's the career for me."

Katie hummed noncommittally, losing herself in the feel of Effy's hands on her, completely forgetting what this night was supposed to be about as her body unwound at her skilful touch.

Before she realised what was happening, Effy's body was pressed against her back and her hands were dipping over the tops of her shoulders and running over her chest. Katie turned her head to ask Effy what she was doing, and that's when it happened.

Effy's lips were warm and soft as they met her own. Katie kissed back almost on automatic. It felt nice. It felt comfortable.

She let Effy turn her and guide her back down onto the bed as their lips worked together. A small gasp escaped her lips as Effy's hands traced up her bare sides.

So this was kissing a girl. It was pleasant, definitely. Not too unlike kissing a boy, except for the lack of stubble scratching her face and Effy's long hair tickling her skin. Effy was more patient, too, not immediately trying to push a tongue into her mouth, which she liked, but at the same time there was something in the way that some boys did that, like they just couldn't wait to touch her, to get inside her, that never failed to make her body tingle with excitement.

One of Effy's hands came up to cup her face as the other found her tit and massaged it gently. Their tongues swiped against each other's almost naturally, and again, Katie was struck by how nice it felt. Nice, but not like she had to have it.

Her mind wondered to how many people would kill to be in her position. It was no secret that most of the boys at school drooled over Effy and would give anything to get into her bed. And here she was, underneath Effy, her tongue against hers, their bodies pressed flush together, and fuck, yes, it felt good, but it didn't feel special. She wasn't burning with desire. She giggled softly into Effy's mouth, and immediately felt bad. She wouldn't let Effy pull back, and instead kissed her again, but this wasn't a passionate kiss either. It was more an apology.

Effy pushed herself up so that she was lingering above Katie and stared her in the eyes. "Feel anything?"

Katie shook her head. "Nothing. Not gay, apparently. I mean, it was nice, but..."

Effy smiled, and leaned down for a quick peck on the lips. "I know. Happy to help."

Katie breathed in deeply trying to calm her breathing a bit, but the thoughts from before bubbled up and she couldn't help giggling again. "Do you know how many people would kill to be where I just was?"

Effy shrugged. "You're special. Not just anyone gets a massage and makes it into my bed."

Katie laughed harder. "Clearly I'm just too sexy for you to resist."

"Clearly," Effy agreed, her amusement hinted at in her voice.

Katie took another deep breath and tried to stop laughing. It was amazing, really, how relaxed she felt all of a sudden. She wasn't gay. She didn't fancy girls. There was nothing wrong with it. She could even maybe understand better now why Emily did, but it wasn't for her. And Effy, beautiful Effy, her best friend, wasn't going to make this weird or awkward or anything it wasn't and didn't need to be.

She snuggled against Effy, not caring that she was still in her bra, letting the alcohol make her drowsy now that she was relaxed. She sighed contentedly as Effy casually threw and arm across her stomach and let her just be there.

.

.

"So I'm thinking of asking your sister to move in with me. You know, since you're not interested," Effy murmured after what felt like a long while when Katie was just about ready to let sleep take her off to dreamland.

"WHAT?" Katie asked, shooting up in bed and glaring down at her best friend.

"I'm just going to provide her the offer of somewhere else to stay where you can still see her as much as you would at home but without the evil eye of Jenna watching over everyone," Effy replied calmly.

Katie lay back, relaxing again, and leaned over to kiss Effy on the cheek. "You're a good friend, really."

"I know," came Effy's response, not quite cocky, more simply stating a fact.

"And an annoying one," Katie added cheekily.

Effy pinched her side without changing her expression in the slightest, but Katie caught a slight gleam in her eye.

Katie settled back into Effy's side, wrapping and arm around her in a loose hug. "I love you despite your annoyingness," she whispered softly.

Effy kissed her gently forehead, and Katie knew that it was her way of saying, "I love you, too."

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**xx  
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